Today is the 6th Anniversary of the death of our beloved Grandmaster Tony Diego, the late Head of Kalis Ilustrisimo.
This picture taken in 2013 captured one of the highlights of my life: being recognized by Mang Tony as a Kalis Ilustrisimo Instructor and received a certificate from this hands.
It's a total surprise to me at that time, since I‘d only been learning KI directly under him for a rather short time.
It was also the last day I saw this great yet humble teacher. He passed away the next year before I had the chance to visit Manila again.
I still remember in this last day of our 2013 training trip, Mang Tony gave us a simple advice: “Train a lot, Pray a lot.”
He never put it lightly that we are actually learning a sophisticated fighting art which can take lives. What he meant was: If one day we have to put our skills to use, it's better we do it in all conscience. We should strive to become warriors that are not only strong and skillful, but also good-hearted.
Thank you Mang Tony. You will always be missed.
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